Top 6 Common Causes of Forgetfulness
Are you forgetful? Is it impacting your life in a negative way? What if you were told it’s perfectly normal, and that the right solutions are only one or two small steps away?
Check out the 6 most common causes of forgetfulness to better understand what we’re talking about!
#1 Lack of Sleep
That’s right, a good night’s sleep can do wonders for you, like make you much more alert and awake, curb inflammation (which basically means lowering your blood pressure and risk of cardiac arrest), spark creativity, and more.
When you don’t get enough sleep (think 6 hours or less), you wind up being a much more dim version of yourself, and as such, you forget things easier.
In order to fix this, try going to bed a little earlier, and taking a nap during the day if your schedule allows it.
#2 Alcohol
Drinking too much can make you forget a lot of things, obviously making you drunk. However, long after the effects have worn off, it can leave you feeling in a haze anyway. This, along with many other health reasons, is enough to adhere to the rule of thumb: no more one drink for women, two for men per day.
That’s not an excuse to drink daily, of course. But when you do drink, it shouldn’t go overboard. Alcohol can cause addiction, dependence, and on a lesser level, hinder weight loss.
#3 Stress & Anxiety
When you stress really badly, you actually perform at a lower level than if you just focused on one thing at a time. For instance, say you hand two different people a stack of work due by the end of the week. One of them freaks out, panics, stresses so much that every task is a struggle. That person will forget basic, fundamental tasks that he/she wouldn’t otherwise forget. Meanwhile, the one who focuses on one task at a time will likely get more done each day, submitting the work on time.
The key to success is to manage stress and anxiety. Try things like task management tools to organize your workload and plan out your days, setting timers per task to motivate you to get things done quickly, and giving yourself little ten to fifteen minute breaks as needed.
#4 Depression
That’s right, depression can cause some extreme lack of motivation. And it can slow the progress being made on each task you do, among many other side effects. More importantly, everything seems to lose all meaning when you’re depressed. Nothing really matters, there’s really no point to anything, so you wind up being very forgetful. After all, why try hard, write things down, or seek to remember things when it doesn’t seem to matter?
#5 Thyroid Issues
Think of your thyroid as a small gland in your neck that produces hormones that regulate bodily functions like mood and cognition. Thyroid problems creep up slowly and has been found to affect one in 20 people aged 60+.
Some symptoms include difficulty thinking, poor working memory (the kind used to follow steps in an instruction manual), slowed reactions, and low mood. It also causes weight gain, over-sensitivity to cold, dry skin, hair loss and constipation.
#6 Medication
Taking too many medications, or even just specific medications can cause cognitive symptoms that resemble long-term mental issues. For instance Anticholinergics is prescribed to treat asthma, incontinence, insomnia and high blood pressure, to name a few illnesses, but it can also cause confusion. It’s been known to block acetylcholine, a brain messenger chemical involved in memory and learning.
If you think you’re being affected by a certain medication, or a blend of all of your prescriptions, it’s time to consult your doctor immediately.